Edited to remove specifics out of respect.

No prob, Jen.

That's definitely a good lesson for carrying a cell phone.

The rule with CPR (as I'm sure you're well versed on) is that the scene must be safe for you should you intervene. That did not sound safe.

Thanks for sharing the story. I didn't mean to make it sound like you had to tell it, but it sounded very interesting!

I never thought I could "run" either. I was over 40 when I even tried, and just like you, couldn't sustain any kind of jogging pace for any length of time. But I started out with run/walk intervals, kept a VERY slow pace, and over time, was able to jog longer and walk less. Finally, I found I could just keep jogging. Then, over time I got faster .... and now am running half marathons. I never thought in a million years that I would be able to do that!!!

So just keep things slow, and work consistently at it, and you will see improvement. It just takes some time and persistence.

What altitude do you live at?

I posted recently that I went outside and ran my first 'outside run' and did an entire mile and got a couple of responses about starting too fast. In looking back, what I didn't say was that I had been running laps around the inside of my house for the last six months trying to improve on the first time when I didn't even make it to the chorus of the song on my iPod at the time... The endurance will come if you keep at it!

ETA: I find now that I really like being outside. I also had to learn to run - I never did it as a child.

Sorry if this has been posted, I didn't read all the posts but I was the same way. I really think lungs need to have endurance built in them just like your muscles. The Couch to 5K program really worked for me. I run 3 miles in one shot now. 4 months ago, I could not even do a minute.

i cant run either.. dont feel bad! i dont know how to breathe when i run so i end up hyperventilating i just walk... which is soo much better on the knees! my mom used to power walk 4 miles a day.. and i took her less than an hour.. ( i think that is pretty fast!)

Me? Um...sea level. Would that make much of a difference?

Besides, I don't think in the UK you can live at a very high altitude, unless you live way up Ben Nevis or something.

Altitude definitely has an effect on running!

The higher you go, the less oxygen you have.

Yeah but I think the highest I could possibly be is 400m above sea level, so I can't imagine that having much of a difference.

Very true. It does take a LOT of elevation to effect lung capacity.

I too could barely make it a minute the first time I tried running, but I didn't know anything about how to do it, and I done nothing to get in shape for it. You need to pace yourself (start out at a very slow jog and build up slowly) and you need to learn to breath right. I started running and after a few weeks, I was able to run a mile, but I was dying at that point and just couldn't break the mile. I was complaining to a running co-worker, who said I may not be breathing right. You need to breath with your gut (let your stomach extend when you breath in to allow more air in your lungs, and then suck in your stomach to push the air out as you exhale). I practiced breathing that way for awhile before my next run and it's not easy to do if you aren't used to it...but you can learn. The next time I ran, I focused on breathing that way, and I broke the mile and almost ran two miles...where as the day before I could barely make it a mile. Breathing right made a huge difference.